The Greek Islands and Athens
A pine covered island with three main settlements, Milos, which is where most of the local population live, Skala, a 20 to 30 minute stroll along the coast road from Milos, and the small village of Limenaria on the other side of the island. Agistri is so small that it can often be missed by the visitor to Greece. It can be reached by ferry from both the Athens port of Piraeus and the island of Aegina.
Agistri
Skala, dominated by the large white church situated close to the sandy beach with
it's shallow safe waters. This is the islands main tourist area. and the home of
most of the islands bars and tavernas. Quiet during the week, it can become very
busy at weekends and during the Greek Holidays.
With it being so close to Athens, the majority of visitors are working class Greeks,
so prices here are kept much lower than on many of the more up-
Limenaria, with it's gold domed church, can be reached by the small island bus. There
is a taverna in the village where you can buy hand woven fabrics. A sign in the
village directs you towards the "beach", this is in fact a small concrete slab, great
for diving into the water, but not so easy once you wish to get out, as it is hard
to avoid cutting yourself on the surrounding rocks.
If you follow the road through Limenaria, it will take you past some salt flats to
the tiny islet of Aponissos, which can be reached via a small, rocky causeway. The
causeway can be wet and slippery, but paddling is easy. You can swim from little
shingle bays on the islet, but most choose to find a spot close by on the main island.
During the holiday season, there is a taverna with room to park both cars and motorcycles.
Halikadha is a popular beach on the island made up of pebbles which get smaller the
further along the beach you go. Halikadha is interesting as not only is it the islands
designated naturist beach, but it also has a cave that is lived in during the summer
months. To get to the beach, follow the road out of Skala past the harbour, keep
on going until you pass the Agistri Club. It is here that the road turns into a track,
follow the coastal path until you find yourself looking down onto the beach. This
is where your real problems start, how do you get down there? For the first timer,
the best option is to wait until someone comes along to show you the way, as the
path is difficult to spot, be warned, it is very steep. The alternative way is to
go down a path to the left, this takes you down to sea level where you can walk around
the headland to the beach. This can involve some paddling, and you may get splashed
when the sea is a little active.